Hannah Spearritt
Hannah Spearritt | |
---|---|
Spearritt at the 2013 MCM ComicCon | |
Born |
Hannah Louise Spearritt 1 April 1981 Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England |
Occupation | Actress, singer |
Years active | 1994–present |
Relatives |
Tanya Spearritt (sister) Eddie Spearritt (uncle) |
Hannah Louise Spearritt (born 1 April 1981)[1] is an English actress and singer. She is an original member of the pop group S Club 7 from 1999 until they split in 2003. In November 2014, the group announced plans for an arena reunion tour, Bring It All Back 2015, which toured the UK in May 2015.[2] Spearritt is also known for playing the role of Abby Maitland in the drama Primeval.
Early life
Spearritt was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk to Michael and Jenny Spearritt, growing up in nearby Gorleston-on-Sea. She is the youngest of three children. Her sister is former model and fashion designer Tanya Spearritt. Her uncle, Eddie Spearritt, from Lowestoft was a professional football player who played for Ipswich Town in the 1960s.[3] At the age of three, she featured in a Mothercare catalogue.
Career
1994–98: Stage
When she was 12, Spearritt landed a part in the Lowestoft Players amateur dramatics society's production of Annie. Thereafter, she successfully auditioned for the National Youth Music Theatre, and became part of the company.[1] While with the NYMT she met future S Club member and boyfriend Paul Cattermole, as well as her friend and future flatmate, actress Sheridan Smith. She appeared in the NYMT's productions Pendragon (1994–95)—performing in New York and Hong Kong, Tin Pan Ali (1996), and the West End musical Bugsy Malone (1997).[1] In 1998, she got a role in the television film The Cater Street Hangman,[1] playing the role of a maid who gets murdered. Spearritt had also made appearances on the National Lottery Show and Blue Peter while studying mathematics, performing arts and media studies at college in Great Yarmouth.
1999–2003: S Club 7
The group S Club 7 rose to fame by starring in their own BBC television series, Miami 7, in 1999 and have been widely referred to as inspiring a new generation of teenage TV musicals including High School Musical and Glee. Over the five years they were together, S Club 7 had four UK No.1 singles, one UK No.1 album, a string of hits throughout Europe, including a top-ten single in the United States, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. They recorded a total of four studio albums, released eleven singles and went on to sell over fourteen million albums worldwide.[4] Their first album, S Club, had a strong 1990s pop sound, similar to many artists of their time. However, through the course of their career, their musical approach changed to a more dance and R&B sound which is heard mostly in their final album, Seeing Double. S Club 7 won two BRIT Awards—in 2000 for British breakthrough act and in 2002, for best British single. In 2001, the group earned the Record of the Year award. Group member Paul Cattermole departed the group in 2002, and the group changed its name from S Club 7 to simply S Club. On 21 April 2003, during a live onstage performance, S Club announced that they were to disband.[5]
2003–11: Blessed and Primeval
In 2003, she was in Los Angeles to audition for a role in the film Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, a fact that she revealed at the UK premiere of the film on 24 March 2004 in London. She got the role and three days after leaving S Club, she began filming. In March 2004, Spearritt successfully auditioned for a minor role in the horror film Seed of Chucky, which was seen by some as an attempt to distance herself from her squeaky clean S Club image.[6] Shortly after completing filming, Spearritt decided to take a break from show-business to travel and spend time with her family. In early November 2005, she made her acting comeback in the BBC's Blessed, an eight-part sitcom. In Blessed, she played a minor role, appearing as a member of a fake girl band in two episodes. December 2005 saw Spearritt appearing in the unsuccessful West End musical, Snow! The Musical, at London's Sound Theatre. The musical was cancelled just three weeks into its run because of poor ticket sales - one show managed to attract an audience of only two people.[7]
In February 2006, it was revealed that Spearritt had landed a lead role in a brand new ITV series called Primeval. She plays the role of Abby Maitland, a reptile enthusiast who gets mixed up with time travelling Professor Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall) after discovering a species of reptile she had never encountered. The series began on 10 February 2007. It paused for over three years before its fourth series aired on ITV in February 2011 with a group of new actors. Series five was viewed on Watch and was shown in early 2012 on ITV1. In late 2006, Spearritt began filming for ITV1, for a guest part in Agatha Christie's Marple television mystery series.[8] The episode, entitled "At Bertram's Hotel", was broadcast on 23 September 2007. In 2010 she made a cameo appearance in a short film, Bubble Wrapped produced by her partner.
2012–present: Casualty and EastEnders
In late 2011 she performed The Belle's Stratagem where she played the role of Lady Frances. In March 2012, Spearritt will take over the role of Pauline in a play called One Man, Two Guvnors in the Theatre Royal Haymarket.[9] She participated with S Club 7 in a reunion tour, titled Bring It All Back 2015, which toured the UK in May 2015. In December 2015, it was confirmed that Spearritt will star as Mercedes Christie in the BBC medical drama Casualty. Spearritt made her debut on 23 January 2016.[10] It was announced in October 2017 that Spearritt would join the cast of EastEnders as Kandice Taylor, the younger sister of established character Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley).[11]
Personal life
Spearritt and Paul Cattermole met in 1994 when both were members of the National Youth Music Theatre. In 1999, Spearritt and Cattermole became members of S Club 7. They dated from 2001 until 2006.[12] Spearritt was engaged to Andrew-Lee Potts from 2008 until 2013.[13][14]
Filmography
Films
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | Seeing Double | Hannah | |
2004 | Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London | Emily Sommers | |
2004 | Seed of Chucky | Joan | |
2012 | Little Larry | Lilly | Short film |
2014 | The Goob | Mary Ellen | |
2015 | Utopia | Lucy | |
2018 | I, Dog | Natalie Bedwyn | Post-production |
2019 | Homeless Ashes | Avi | In production |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | The Cater Street Hangman | Lily | Television film |
1999 | Miami 7 | Hannah | Main role |
1999 | Back to the '50s | Hannah | Television film |
1999 | Boyfriends & Birthdays | Hannah | Television film |
2000 | L.A. 7 | Hannah | Main role |
2000 | S Club 7 Go Wild! | Herself | Reality television |
2001 | Hollywood 7 | Hannah | Main role |
2001 | S Club Search | Judge / Mentor | |
2002 | Viva S Club | Hannah | Main role |
2005 | Blessed | Sarah | Main role |
2007 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Tilly Rice | Episode: "At Bertram's Hotel" |
2007–11 | Primeval | Abby Maitland | Main role |
2013 | Death in Paradise | Lily Shaw | Episode: "A Dash of Sunshine" |
2015 | GoryTime | Hayley Smith | Episode: "Selfie" |
2016 | Casualty | Mercedes Christie | Main role (Season 31) |
2017–present | EastEnders | Kandice Taylor | Recurring role |
Videogames
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Primeval Evolved | Abby Maitland | Voice |
Stage
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1994–95 | Pendragon | Lana |
1996 | Tin Pan Ali | Annie |
1997–98 | Bugsy Malone[1] | Louella |
2005 | Snow! The Musical | Jilly |
2011 | The Belle's Strategem | Lady Frances |
2012–13 | One Man, Two Guvnors | Pauline |
2015 | The Armour[15] | Poppy Jean |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | TV Quick & TV Choice Awards | Best Actress | Primeval | Nominated | [16] |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Gregory, Andy (2002) International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002, Europa, ISBN 1-85743-161-8, p. 478
- ↑ Nissim, Mayer (17 November 2014). "S Club 7 announce 'Bring It All Back' 2015 arena tour dates". Digital Spy. United Kingdom: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
- ↑ "Eddie Spearritt". The Pride of Anglia. 9 July 2007.
- ↑ "She's movin' on up". Times Online. Times Newspapers Ltd. 13 February 2005. Retrieved 21 October 2008.
- ↑ "S Club to split up". BBC News. BBC. 21 April 2003. Retrieved 25 August 2007.
- ↑ 3am (23 March 2004). "Han's Evil Spearritt". The Daily Mirror.
- ↑ Victoria Newton (December 2005). "That's Snow-biz". The Sun. Archived from the original on 3 January 2006.
- ↑ Liz Thomas (13 November 2006). "McCutcheon to star in next Marple drama". The Stage.
- ↑ Chadderton, David. "One Man, Two Guvnors". britishtheatreguide.info. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ↑ "Hannah Spearritt in Casualty". Digital Spy. 13 November 2015.
- ↑ Pink, Stuart (25 October 2017). "EAST CLUB 7 S Club 7 singer Hannah Spearritt to join the cast of EastEnders this year - after previous acting jobs in Primeval and Casualty". The Sun. News Group Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/music/newsid_1608000/1608993.stm S Club 7 Pair Admit Secret Love. BBC UK
- ↑ McAlpine, Fraser (9 November 2011). "Eight British Couples Who Met On-Set". BBC America. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ↑ http://www.hollywood.com/general/andrew-lee-potts-and-hannah-spearritt-split-59092390/
- ↑ "Hannah Spearritt acts the part for S Club 7 reunion". BBC. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
- ↑ "Hannah at the TV Quick & TV Choice Awards". Viva S Club. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hannah Spearritt. |